It’s Friday, the sun is shining, summer is around the corner, the world didn’t come to an end after …

Its Friday, the sun is shining, summer is around the corner, the world didn’t come to an end after all this week’s political turmoil and stock market mini-hissy fit; life is good.

Since life goes on, and the lazy hot days of summertime will soon be upon us, I suggest that we stay career-focused and avoid the noisy distractions assaulting us from all sides. For many people it is easy to become complacent and fall into inertia due to anxiety about the stock market, political arguments, the invention of the male romper, terrorist attacks, drunk drivers crashing into innocent workers leisurely strolling around Times Square on their lunch breaks, and countries like North Korea that are threatening to kill us.

“Why should I look for a new job with this chaos swirling around?” you may ask yourself. “I’ll just wait for a better time to find a new job or take some proactive career enhancement measures (okay, you may not really use those words when you talk to yourself)” to justify your malaise.

Well, the time is now. As a recruiter I have noticed that a large number of people have pulled themselves out of the job market due to concerns about the current economy and future uncertainty. They feel it is easier and safer to stay where they are, even if they are unhappy, unappreciated, and under paid. When qualified and skilled people pull out of the job search, those who are ambitious and unafraid stand a far better chance of obtaining a new job with the whittled down competition.

It is also a good time to attend conferences, continue your education by signing-up for classes in your field, attain accreditations, and work on improving and acquiring new skills while your competition cowers under their desks waiting for better times.

Below is a reading assignment to get you motivated and recharged to hit the summer hard – not at the beach – but in the real work world.

Successful people refuse to make excuses for their own mistakes

Successful people learn, grow, and constantly strive to improve obsessively

Successful people refuse to whine when things don’t go their way

Successful people figure out ways to win

Successful people refuse to copy what other people have done to be successful

Successful people ignore the so-called wisdom of the crowd

Successful people refuse to stay down when they get knocked down or fail

Successful people become stronger from their failures

Successful people refuse to avoid doing the hard work thatsuccess demands

Successful people refuse to adopt the thinking of the status quo

Successful people think for themselves

Successful people refuse to ignore their own weaknesses and bad habits

Successful constantly work on self-improvement

Successful people refuse to pretend that they are perfect or better than anyone else

Successful people refuse to look down on others

Successful people encourage and support the people around them

Successful people refuse to be discouraged

Successful people drive themselves and don’t need cheerleaders

Successful people don’t worry about what others think about them

Successful people refuse to let money make them arrogant

Successful people maintain their integrity at all costs

Successful people refuse to complain about things that are outside of their control

Successful people refuse to waste their time doing things that don’t matter

Successful people refuse to try to be good at everything at the same time

Successful people refuse to give up when things get tough

Successful people stay focused and disciplined

Successful people work towards goals and not weekend partying

Successful people refuse to let anything stop them

Successful people refuse to think about defeat or success as final

Successful people set goals and grind away to meet them

Successful people refuse to blame other people for their own mistakes

Successful people refuse to let current chaos distract them from future success

Successful people refuse to lose sight of why they are doing what they are doing

Successful people find ways to keep themselves inspired and motivated when things are difficult

Successful people think positively

Successful people sometimes find and reprint motivational tips without giving the appropriate attributions because he forgot where he got them from